Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-v/7/b/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2015 Prelims Mathematics V 7 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
By the assumed spherical symmetry of the electric potential, the electric field is radial: for . On a sphere of radius , Gauss's law therefore readsPut . For , the enclosed electric charge is . In the spherical shell, the factor in the volume element cancels in the charge density, soIt follows thatAt the origin the first formula gives without needing a radial unit vector. At both shell interfaces the adjacent formulas agree: for every fixed , there is no surface charge concentrated on either sphere, and the electric field is continuous there. No sign restriction on has been assumed, so the shell charge density and the radial electric field can be negative.
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